Soldiers
by yas-m
Summary: Summary: An AU story set post The End. Five years after the last survivors leave the island, five years after they bury an empty coffin with Jack's name on the tombstone, a war wages across the world. Kate Austen and Claire Littleton enlist as volunteer
1. Chapter 1

This little two shot is based on Cinzia's dream and I just hope I do it justice, LOL. I haven't forgotten about "Not With Anyone", I am working on the last two chapters and they will be up soon. Also after that, there's another little ficlet I hope you guys will enjoy.

**Summary:** An AU story set post The End. Five years after the last survivors leave the island, five years after they bury an empty coffin with Jack's name on the tombstone, a war wages across the world. Kate Austen and Claire Littleton enlist as volunteer nurses in military hospitals. It is in one of those hospitals that their world are turned further upside down.

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><p><strong>Soldiers<strong>

**Chapter 1: Ghosts**

"Oh, thank God," Kate said, dropping heavily on the worn out couch in the nurses' break room. The small room resembled a closet more than it did a room, but it was enough for the over worked nurses looking for a few minutes' respite before they had to go back out to tend to the brave men and women who filled the rooms and halls of the hospital.

"Finally catching a break?" came Claire's voice from behind her, surprising her friend with a warm cup of coffee and a sweet smile.

"Aw, you're a God sent!" Kate said, a wide smile spreading across her features as she hugged the warm cup, "first break in fourteen hours. I was this close to collapsing on top of Dr. Hopper's last patient," she confessed with an embarrassed giggle.

"Well, enjoy it while it lasts, I'm off to take these to the ogre upstairs," Claire joked about their boss as she carried a pile of files and headed out, leaving her friend to catch a short nap before having to face it all over again.

Claire walked the hallways, trying hard to avoid the cries and pained voices that filled the spaces. No matter how much of the horrors of wars they see, they can never get used to it, with everyday proving a more difficult and testing battle against their own fears, memories and demons. With her head bowed and concentration focused, she walked quickly along the long, cold corridors, until she was completely oblivious of her surroundings. It was then that she walked straight into the soldier in front of her who seemed disoriented.

"I'm so sorry," they both said together.

He was so much taller than her and she had bumped into his back, and when he turned around, Claire let out a loud gasp, dropping the pile of files she had been carrying.

"I'm sorry, are you ok?" He said, kneeling to pick up what she had dropped.

"Jack?" she said, her voice cracking, watching as her brother, who she believed had been dead for the past five years, stood in front of her, very much alive.

"I'm sorry?" he asked, eyeing the obviously emotional woman in confusion.

"Jack... it's me, Claire," she explained, trying to hold back the tears. She knew it couldn't be possible it was him, but he was just like him, so real, down to his warm eyes and short cropped hair.

"I'm sorry," the soldier said, offering her an apologetic smile, "you must have me confused with someone else. My name is Bryan."

Claire shook her head, refusing to believe that her minds was playing tricks on her, but did not want to push her luck, the man before her obviously not recognizing her. "I'm sorry, I guess I am. Excuse me, I am just terribly tired," she apologized with a smile.

"It's alright," he said with a gentle smile, "I wonder if you could help me though... I am looking for Dr. Jameson," he said.

"Of course," Claire said, "she's in building 23, across the yard," she said pointing the soldier towards the exit.

"Thank you, Nurse Littleton," he said and walked past her, disappearing down the hall among the masses of uniforms like an apparition. Claire took a deep breath. She did not care who that man said he was, she knew it was Jack. She saw his face every day in the picture that sat next to the front door of their small apartment. There was no way she would confuse him for anyone else.

Claire walked back hurriedly towards the nurses' break room after submitting the paperwork to her boss. She took a deep breath before entering the room. She had very little time to debate whether to tell Kate what she had just seen or not. The other woman had gone a long way from the time they left the island and she lost Jack. It had been a very hard time, and Claire knew she still had days where she locked herself in her room and cried for hours. She knew telling her such a thing could be devastating, especially at a time like this. Kate was finally in a good place, she was finally accepting that she should move on, even considering going out with a guy who had been pursuing her for a while. Claire knew telling her that Jack might still be alive would push her back into a darker place, but how could she know such a thing and not tell her?

"Kate, sweetie? Are you awake?" she asked when she saw her best friend lying with her eyes closed.

"No, I am asleep on a beach in Hawaii, so shut up," Kate said jokingly, urging Claire to leave her alone.

"Kate, please, I need to tell you something," Claire said in serious tone that Kate was not often used to, not since she stopped sneaking out in the middle of the night to visit Jack's old apartment.

Kate opened her eyes and sat up straight, "Claire, what is it?" she asked concerned.

Claire sat next to her, locking her gaze and smiling warmly, "I just saw... someone," she said.

Kate blinked a few times, confused at her friend's demeanor, "Who?" she asked.

Claire swallowed hard against the lump that formed in her throat, she was about to drop a bomb, and it was even harder than she thought. "It was..." Claire started, but before she could utter the next syllable, a deafening sound erupted and shook the entire compound, throwing them both of the couch.

BUILDING 23 HAS BEEN BOMBED! ALL MEDICAL PERSONNEL REPORT TO BUILDING 23! BUILDING 23 HAS BEEN BOMBED! ALL MEDICAL PERSONNEL REPORT TO BUILDING 23! BUILDING 23 HAS BEEN BOMBED! ALL MEDICAL PERSONNEL REPORT TO BUILDING 23!

The voice over the PA repeated over the sounds of wails and cries and sirens, over the mayhem and chaos that spread across the hospital.

"Oh my God," Claire cried. She had just sent Jack to building 23.

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><p>So? What do you think? Anyone interested in reading the rest of this? Drop me a review if you are :D<p> 


	2. Wounds

First of all, I want to thank everyone for all the amazing reviews! I am so glad you are all enjoying this. Second, I know I said this is a two-shot, but I am extending it to a 3rd chapter because I think the last part needs its own chapter. Either way, enjoy this update!

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><p><strong>Soldiers<strong>

**Chapter 2: Wounds**

"Claire! Claire! Come on! Let's go!" Kate cried at her friend who sat on the floor in shock, mumbling "no, no, oh my God, no!" over and over. When Claire did not respond, Kate grabbed her shoulders roughly and shook her, "Let's go!" she said, pulling her up to her feet and running out of the building into the yard.

The sight in the yard was horrifying. Everyone from medical personnel, to patients, staff and administrators were all standing the middle of it watching as building 23 was slowly crumbling in front of them. They could hear the cries coming from people inside the building, and the cries coming from the people in the yard. The West wing, which housed most of the hospital's recovery rooms was completely shelled down, while the East wing was slowly crumbling. People were quickly rushing, trying to pull survivors from beneath the burning rubble of steel, glass and cement. There was blood, smoke and chaos everywhere. And as the two women stood in shock and fear, taking in the scene in front of them, they were called into action by one of the doctors; "I need as many nurses as possible in the East wing right now!"

"Is it safe?" asked one of their colleagues about the section of the building that housed mostly clinics and offices.

"Yes, it was not hit, so it took quite a shake but it is not collapsing. There weren't many people in there. Lunch break… but there were some, and they might need medical attention before we stretch them out. Go!" he yelled at them to get into action.

Kate, Claire and a number of other nurses rushed into the building and understood what the doctor was referring to. It seemed vacant for the most part. The damage was mostly broken glass and furniture that had fell over due to the shock of the blast. The senior nurse among them divided them into three teams, send each to one of the floors of the facility. The ground floor consisted mainly of offices and most of the occupants seemed to be able to walk out on their own, with simple cuts and bruises. The third floor, where Kate was assigned, was mostly clinics and seemed to have sustained most of the damage as the nurses noticed while they tried to make their way over the debris in the corridors. Luckily the floor seemed relatively empty, as the doctor had said, very few appointments are given in the clinics during that time of day. They had checked most of the rooms in that floor when they heard a call from the check up room at the very end of the hall.

"Over here! Help!" came the voice as someone tried to push open the door being held shut by a cabinet. The team quickly worked to remove the obstructing object and opened the door to a distraught looking Dr. Jameson.

"Doctor! Are you ok? Are you hurt?" asked one of the nurses, doing a quick scan to check for any injuries.

"I think my shoulder is dislocated," she said, "but my patient isn't he's in there," she explained, pointing towards the door that had been almost completely blocked by fallen rubble.

"There's someone in there?" Kate asked.

"Yes, and he is hurt," the doctor said, "but I cannot and he cannot get up to move the debris and get out."

The group looked towards the door. It seemed to be completely blocked by various fallen objects, furniture and what seemed to look like a chunk of concrete that used to be the ceiling.

"Why can't we move it?" asked one of the nurses.

"No, he's pinned under it, if we try to move it, it might collapse and crush him," Doctor Jameson explained.

"I think I can get in," Kate said, studying the debris closely.

"What?" the group asked.

"There's a small opening, right there," Kate said pointing to the tiny clear space in the rubble, "I think I can fit in there."

The group looked amongst themselves, Kate was indeed the smallest in size among them. "Ok, let's get Kate through," said the team leader, "be careful," he added with a smile, one that Kate returned timidly. She had been avoiding Nurse Johnson's advances for a while now, despite Claire's efforts to convince her to go out with him. He was a nice enough guy, but Kate didn't feel attracted to him, not in that way. When Claire asked her why not, he was after all kind, caring and very good looking, Kate always replied with "something's missing" and secretly thought, "he's not Jack."

"What's his name?" Kate asked the doctor right before she crept into the small opening.

"Bryan," she replied.

Kate took a deep breath and looked into the small opening. It was dark and surprisingly deep. She felt a shiver through her body when she was suddenly taken back years into the past, the sight reminding her oddly of a cave, and that horrible day when Jack was stuck in the cave in. She shut her eyes for a second, willing the memory back into her subconscious and allowing her to focus on the task at hand. She crawled in slowly, careful not to hit anything on her way in, any slight contact could cause everything to collapse further and she would get stuck herself.

It took a few moments, but Kate was finally across and safe. She looked around and saw a body on lying on the ground. His lower abdomen and legs were visible but his upper half was stuck below the fallen debris, obstructing the view to his upper chest and face from her. Kate held her breath for a moment until she saw his chest rise and fall with the sure sign s of life. She let out a relived sigh and knelt down beside him. She attempted to remove the objects that were pinning him, starting slowly and carefully. She called his names a few times, but got no reply. He appeared to be unconscious, but Kate calmed herself that he was at least breathing. She continued to move aside the debris until she saw something that caused her to jump back, gasping loudly and falling back.

Along the inside of the soldier's left arm, the one exposed beneath the fallen rubble, was a colorful pattern, red, blue and yellow, stars and waves. Kate swallowed against a stubborn sob in her throat, placing a palm over her mouth. She knew that pattern, it haunted her, came to her in her sleep. It was etched in her memory, one of the many details about the one man in her life she truly loved, the one man who owned her heart, body and soul. It was an exact replica of Jack's tattoo. She took a deep breath and urged herself to maintain her calm. It was just a coincidence she told herself. People have similar tattoos all over the world. She wiped absentmindedly at a stray tear she did not know had escaped. She continued removing the wreckage until his entire left arm and shoulder were exposed. It was then that the tears started to fall freely. One tattoo was a coincidence, but what was before her was definitely not a coincidence. That was undoubtedly Jack's arm, down to the last tattoo, to every mole and inch of that arm, she knew it by heart. She had kissed every inch of it, she had been wrapped tightly by it. Even though she could not see his face just yet, she knew it was Jack. Kate sat back for a moment, crying unabashedly. The man she had lost five years ago was lying on the ground in front of her, under a mass of wreckage, barely breathing, and she was not about to lose him again before she got the chance to get him back.

"Jack! Jack! Come on, let's get you out," she whispered as she got back to removing the debris.

"Kate? Kate? What's going on?" came a voice from outside the room when almost fifteen minutes had passed and they had not heard from her.

Just then they heard a heavy crash as the mass that had gathered at the door collapsed.

"KATE! KATE! Can you hear me? Are you ok?"

Kate heard the voices from behind the door again and coughed at the suffocating smoke. She looked around her; the door was blocked more than it had been. She was unharmed, she pushed herself back up and moved towards Jack. He was still breathing, barely, but was still below too much wreckage for her to remove.

"I… I'm fine, but I cannot move all this, it's too much! And… and I can't help Jack, he's under a lot of debris!" she said, her hands shaking as she tried to remove it off of Jack.

"Jack? You mean Bryan?" Dr. Jameson, "is he alive?"

"Jack? Did you say Jack?" Claire said as she walked through the door, finally arriving with her team to the third floor, "she found him?"

"Claire?" Kate asked, her voice shaking upon hearing her friend's words, "It's him! I know it's him! He's here! But… but I… can't help him!"

"Nurse Littleton, what is going on? What are you two talking about? Is my patient ok?" asked Dr. Jameson.

"I'm sorry, Doctor," Claire said, "yes, yes he's fine but it seems Kate cannot get him out," she explained calmly.

She knew that Kate could be getting hysterical at the moment, being in the same room as Jack again after years of mourning him and living in pain and despair, and she knew how Kate would get when she wanted to help someone but could not.

"Kate? Sweetie, are you still with me?" she asked gently from behind the door, hearing Kate's silent sobs and grunts as she continued to remove some of the rubble.

"Mhmm," Kate said with a sniffle, "Claire, he's here," she said again with another sob.

"I know, sweetie, I know," Claire said, as the rest of the group seemed to move back, unsure what was going on, but trusting Claire to know what she was doing, the two women seemingly close as sisters. "We are all going to help you two get out, but honey I need you to tell me if there's a way for someone to get in there to help you, okay?"

Kate looked around her. She was scared, tired and emotional. In any other situation her attention and focus would have been unwavering, but not now. Unconsciously, she reached down and took Jack's in hers. "Please don't leave me, Jack, please don't leave, not again, please," she begged quietly as she studied her surroundings.

"Kate?" Claire asked again.

"Yeah…" Kate said, "there's a part of the ceiling collapsed, I think you can get in from the roof."

The team quickly hustled towards the roof, with a few members staying by the door to support Kate. "Alright, sweetie, we're coming now, stay put," Claire said assuredly.

Kate sat back on her heels, still clutching to Jack's hand. He was still breathing, but also still unconscious. "You're going to be ok, you're going to be ok," she whispered, "I've got you."

…**To be continued**


	3. Scars

Last chapter. Enjoy!

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><p><strong>Chapter 3: Scars<strong>

"Kate? You're still here?" Claire asked when she noticed her friend still sitting next to an unconscious Jack in the recovery ward.

"I'm not leaving him, Claire, not again," Kate said stubbornly, as she held his hand tightly between her hands, rubbing her thumb gently against his paled skin.

_Five years earlier…_

_"Kate, are you ready?" Claire asked, knocking at the bedroom door. When she heard no reply, she knocked again and walked in, only to find Kate sitting crossed legged on her bed, still not dressed for the occasion, "Kate, we're going to be late."_

_"I'm not going," Kate said sternly, "I can't do it," she added in a whisper._

_"I know this is hard, but we've talked about this…" Claire said, sitting on the bed next to her friend and laying a gentle hand on her shoulder, "you need this. We all do. It's time we move on."_

_It had been six months since the last survivors arrived back in Lost Angeles. The first few months saw Claire falling apart completely. The weight of returning to civilization, to get over the last three years proving as hard as she had imagined. But Kate had remained strong for her, supporting her and holding her hand every step of the way. Slowly, with Kate's help, she rekindled her relationship with her mother and reconnected with her son, and that gave her the strength to get back on her feet. Only then, with Claire finally getting her life back together, did Kate allow herself to fall apart; the loss of Jack and Aaron finally crashing on top of her. Claire returned the favor, being there for the woman who was now a sister to her, supporting her and being a shoulder to cry on._

_"What if I don't want to move on?" Kate sobbed._

_Claire had no answer to that, she just rubbed Kate's shoulder warmly and let her cry. She and Margo had been trying for months to get Kate to accept that they arrange a memorial service for Jack and were shocked when she finally agreed a few weeks before._

_"I can't… I can't bury an empty coffin, Claire," Kate cried, "What if he survived? Maybe he's waiting for me somewhere to go find him?"_

_Claire sighed, they had had the exact same conversation a hundred times before, and she thought Kate had finally gone beyond this stage. She had not mentioned the possibility of Jack still being alive in weeks. "Kate, sweetie, you know that's not possible. You said yourself that the wound looked terrible. Hurley told us what Jack said, that he knew he was dying. And Ben has searched the island, inch for inch, so many times, and they did not find him. You cannot keep doing this to yourself," she said, immediately feeling terrible when it got Kate to start weeping unabashedly. She held on to her, letting her cry, before they had to leave to bid a final farewell to Jack Shephard._

"What's his story?" Claire asked, coming to stand next to Dr. Jameson, both women watching Kate seated next to Jack, a place she had not left for hours.

"He doesn't have one, well, not one that is more than four and a half years old," the doctor explained.

Claire raised her eyebrows at her, "really?" she said in an interested tone.

"He was found by an old Bedouin woman in the desert in Tunisia five years ago," she started, "he was terribly injured, all kinds of injuries, cuts, bruises, stab wounds, broken bones, head injuries; a collection of injuries that could not be explained by any common accidents. He was cared for by a local doctor and he remained in a comatose state for months. By the time he woke up, he remembered nothing, not where he was or what happened to him, not his name or where he was from. And the war had already begun. He had no family, no home, nowhere to go to, so he enlisted, joining the Mediterranean armed forced. They desperately needed men at that point, so no one was going to ask too many question when an able, healthy man asked to join but left most of the questions in the application empty. No one cared he did not know his date of birth as long as he could carry a weapon and shoot it," Dr. Jameson explained, "he's been there for the past four years, fighting in the battle of Naples, Algiers… most of the battles there. This is his first time back in the US."

"Why Bryan?" Claire asked, surprising herself that it was the only thing she would ask about.

Dr. Jameson shrugged, "just a name one of the kids in the village gave him, and it stuck…" she said, "you two know him, don't you?"

Claire nodded, a smile crossing her lips before she spoke, "he's my brother," she said, the word sounding strange and comforting at the same time, "he's her fiancé," she added, looking back towards Kate, "we've been under the impression he's been dead for the last five years."

...

"Tunisia? How on Earth did he end up there?" Kate asked incredulously.

"I have no idea," Claire chuckled, "but it doesn't matter, does it? He's here now."

Kate nodded, smiling despite the stray tear that trickled down her cheek. "Now, are you sure you won't come home with me?" Claire asked.

"Yeah, I'm staying. I need to be here when he wakes up," she said, reading Claire's reaction immediately before she even spoke, "I know, I know, he won't remember me, but it doesn't matter."

"Alright," Claire said, "but I have to go. I haven't seen Aaron in two days, I bet he has spent them eating junk food, watching TV and not doing any of his homework," Claire laughed, "his grandmothers have no skills when it comes to disciplining that boy."

It was dark when Jack opened his eyes. He found himself lying in a hospital bed, something he had gotten used to since the first time he did over four years ago. However, the foreign feeling was having someone sitting at his bedside. He blinked a few times before he could adjust to the dim lighting in the room. In the small chair next to his bed sat a young woman, in her early thirties. She was dressed in civilian clothes, brown wavy hair tied in a loose knot. She was sleeping, holding his hand in hers. He knew it was her, the woman who had come in after him in the clinic after the explosion. He had been barely conscious when she walked in, buried beneath the wreckage. He had not seen her face, but he faintly remembered hearing her voice. The one thing he did remember clearly was that she took his hand in hers and prayed silently. That feeling of her skin against his was the one vivid memory he had, and it was that exact same feeling now. This woman had saved him, and now she sat by his bedside, and he had no idea who she was or why she was doing this.

"You called me Jack," were the first words that Kate heard when she woke up. She sat back, startled, her jaw dropping in a silent gasp as she tried to hold it in when she saw Jack, her Jack, sitting up in his bed and looking straight at her.

"Hey," was all she could say, staring at him like a deer in headlights, still unable to grasp the reality that he was indeed alive.

Jack smiled, the woman before him was incredibly beautiful, and the look of shock and surprise on his face made the entire situation all the more mystifying. "Hey," he said back, surprised at how naturally it rolled off his tongue. "So… you called me Jack?"

"I did," Kate said, unsure how to go on about this conversation.

"And so did a nurse, shortly before you did, a young, blonde nurse… Littleton?" Jack added, to which Kate could only nod, "Do you know who I am?"

Jack watched as the woman's head bobbed forward, a smile stretching across her face and tears falling freely down her cheeks. Her hand still around his, he squeezed it gently, "Who am I?"

He had spent the last four years travelling the world, trying to find anything that meant something, to meet anyone who could tell him who he was, someone who would recognize him. It tore him apart not knowing his own name, where he came from, if he had a home, a family, someone who was looking for him, missing him. He locked his gaze with hers, bright green eyes looking at him, warmly, lovingly, and his own tears began to fall. She moved to sit next to him, timidly. He scooted for her, watching her move gracefully to his side. She sat next to him and turned to wrap her arms around him, holding him tight like she had dreamt of for years.

He still had no idea about anything, but at this moment, feeling her warm body melt into his so naturally, he knew it. He was finally home.

**THE END.**

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><p>I hope you guys enjoyed this little ficlet. Now we move on back to Not With Anyone.<p> 


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